I agree with the statements above regarding the translation of 'take in the view'... and yet, "...Aussicht in sich aufnehmen..." feels highly unidiomatic in German, particularly when used with imperativ. Am I the only one to think so?

I agree with the statements above regarding the translation of 'take in the view'... and yet, "...Aussicht in sich aufnehmen..." feels highly unidiomatic in German, particularly when used with imperativ. Am I the only one to think so?

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No, even in the indicative I would prefer the verb genießen in this context.

Sie hielt an, um die schöne Aussicht zu genießen.
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But genießen is to enjoy in English and not to absorb, even if you interpret to absorb in a figurative sense.
We simply have to accept that languages do have a different set of metaphors, especially in the realm of emotions.

An funny expression of the eighties/nineties of the last century comes to my mind, that comes closest to the English to absorb, i guess. I haven't heard it in a long time, though, so i don't know whether it is still used: Sich etwas reinziehen.

Sie hielt an, um sich die schöne Aussicht reinzuziehen.
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This would be a very colloquial way to phrase the idea. The metaphor probably comes from drugs like cocaine that are usually absorbed via nasal mucous membranes by sniffing them through rolled-up bank notes.

An funny expression of the eighties/nineties of the last century comes to my mind, that comes closest to the English to absorb, i guess. I haven't heard it in a long time, though, so i don't know whether it is still used: Sich etwas reinziehen.

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Yes, indeed! Those days, to be cool (and to stay cool) you had to regularly 'take in' something:

Even though, the word almost makes sense, I think, we can categorize 'reinziehen' as a fashion word and one should be careful to ensure that this language style fits the crowd, before using it too freely!